Representative of the OCU mission in Poland: Priests of the Polish Orthodox Church preach "Russian world"

The head of the OCU chaplaincy mission in Warsaw, Serhiy Sirenko, spoke about the OCU’s relations with the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Sirenko said that the OCU had to open a «mission» in several Polish cities for Ukrainian refugees, as the official PAOC does not recognize the Ukrainian schism. Moreover, according to the OCU cleric, Ukrainians refuse to attend churches of the Polish Orthodox Church because its priests allegedly preach the «Russian world». He said this in an interview with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia publication.

«According to the Tomos granted to the OCU in January 2019, the church has no right to open parishes outside its canonical territory…. We adhered to these restrictions, and therefore for some time the former foreign parishes of the UOC-KP were in limbo. […] In the case of Poland, if the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church recognized the OCU, our missions would simply become parishes and transfer to the OCU. But if the PAOC continues not to recognize the OCU and the faithful of our church need spiritual care, I think no one will leave them to their fate, » Serhiy Sirenko said.

The chaplain added that Ukrainians are reluctant to attend churches of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church. In his opinion, this is due to the fact that the priests of the PAOC allegedly promote pro-Russian narratives and preach the «Russian world.»

«We are ready for dialogue, for contacts in any format. We are open. Metropolitan Epifaniy has already written several letters to the head of the OCU, Metropolitan Sava. But, unfortunately, the OCU does not make contact. But we need to understand that the OCU consists not only of the leadership and senior hierarchs, but also of ordinary priests and believers. In the eastern part of Poland, many communities of the OCU consist mainly of Ukrainians. Naturally, the priests there are the most loyal to our appearance. In Warsaw, there are also priests of the OCU, with whom we keep in informal contact. But still, pro-Russian sentiments prevail among the majority of the clergy of the OCU, and one can hear them preaching the «Russian world,» which is absolutely unacceptable for Ukrainian believers,» he said.

Earlier, the Primate of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church sent a complaint to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople related to the invasion of the OCU into the canonical territory of the PAOC. The protest is related to the creation of so-called chaplaincy missions by the OCU in Poland, under the guise of which Ukrainian schismatics open full-fledged parishes.